PERSONAL COMPUTERS

PERSONAL COMPUTERS; 'Smart' Typewriter May Be an Intelligent Choice

By PETER H. LEWIS

Published: January 16, 1990

THE caller said his old electric typewriter had finally given up the ghost, and he wanted to know what kind of personal computer to buy to replace it. He said he wrote 10 or 20 business letters a week, along with an occasional brief report. His daughter would also use it to write her school papers. They had no interest in data bases, spreadsheets, charts or communications.

A low-end personal computer equipped with a printer and a simple word processing program would do the job for him, of course, but after checking local prices he concluded that such a system would cost about $1,500. Instead, the caller wound up buying a ''smart'' typewriter, saving hundreds of dollars in the process.

The typewriter is not extinct. Some of the newer models, especially in the category called personal word processors, contain computer microprocessors, random access memory, disk drives, backlighted liquid crystal display screens, spelling checkers, grammar checkers, simple spreadsheets, mailing list managers, standard RS232 serial communication ports and other features that are found on personal computers. The similarities do not end there. The Smith Corona Corporation of New Canaan, Conn., even makes a battery-powered laptop personal word processor called the PWP 7000LT.

''Our research discovered that the overwhelming majority of people who bought PC's were using them for word processing and simple spreadsheets,'' said Fred Feuerhake, vice president of marketing for Smith Corona. ''The selling point for PC's is potential expansion, but if all you do is word processing and simple calculations, using a PC is kind of like hunting rabbits with a cannon - and an expensive cannon, too.'' The Smith Corona PWP 7000LT, which has a suggested list price of $899, includes a letter-quality printer and a powerful word processing program. It weighs eight pounds and looks very much like a portable computer, which, technically, it is. It seems to be a reasonable alternative to portable computers for people who are not comfortable with more powerful machines.

Frank G. Cannata, president of Marketing Research Consultants Inc. of Glastonbury, Conn., and publisher of the Cannata Report newsletter on office equipment, said there were a lot of people in that category, especially older people who are intimidated by computer technology and business executives who do not feel that they have the time to learn to use a computer.

Although he uses a Wyse PC to produce the newsletter and carries a NEC Ultralite while traveling, ''Personally, I use my old personal word processor for basic writing,'' Mr. Cannata said. ''I very rarely walk over to my PC,'' he added. ''I go to computer shows and people always give me software, but I find myself asking, 'Do I have the time to learn this? What is it going to do for me?' In terms of writing, I feel more comfortable with the word processor.''

The Smith Corona PWP 7000LT has a working memory of about 50,000 characters (50 kilobytes), which translates to about 25 pages of double-spaced typewritten text. As with a conventional computer memory, everything in the typewriter's memory is erased when the unit is turned off or loses power.

Like a computer, the PWP 7000LT can save data on a removable diskette. In the case of the PWP 7000LT, however, the disk is nonstandard, which means that it is not the same as the ones found in most computer stores. The three-inch Smith Corona disks can store about 100 kilobytes (100,000 characters) of information, the equivalent of about 50 pages of text. Because of software limitations, each disk can hold a maximum of 20 documents, 10 on each side. Disks cost about $3.50 each.

In contrast, the 3.5-inch diskettes used in some current portable computers can store more than 10 times as much information. The software used in the PWP 7000LT is menu-driven; in other words, the user chooses actions by typing a number from a list of possible commands, instead of typing the commands directly. In addition, the keyboard has a number of special keys that control common word processing functions.

Pressing the ''code'' and ''3'' keys at the same time, for example, will mark a block of text that can then be moved to another part of the document. There is also a ''word erase'' key that does just that.

The PWP 7000LT also has an optional ''Coronacalc'' spreadsheet program ($59.95) that handles simple financial documents, like budgets or sales reports.

We were able to unpack the PWP 7000LT, set it up, skim the rather thick manual and produce a short business letter in less than 20 minutes, which is much faster than we could set up a comparable personal computer-software-printer combination. From the standpoint of hardware and mechanics, the PWP is significantly easier to understand than a PC.

The advantage lessens somewhat in software. We have been using computer word processors for nearly 20 years, but a novice might find the PWP word processing commands just as difficult to learn as those in a simple PC word processing program.

For cost, the PWP wins handily, although a determined shopper might be able to find a low-end PC, used daisy wheel printer and inexpensive software for about the same price.

We still have a bias in favor of personal computers. The PC is more versatile than a typewriter, even if it is used only for word processing. And although word processing may be the initial application, many users soon find that the PC can also be useful for tasks ranging from small-business and household financial management to playing games.

In the end, though, smart typewriters may be an intelligent alternative for people who write short, uncomplicated documents and nothing else.